An angel in my arms
by TechnoPirate
Summary: She left because she was pregnant, she came back with a toddler... She still loves him...JackieHyde
1. Chapter 1: Remember me?

The brunette female had left the city… had left it years ago for reasons that only she knew… but as of right now, that wasn't the point, for she was back, and she did not come back alone. In the women's hand was that of another, meaning… her hand, held the hand of someone else, it wasn't at all what people would have expected, her friends in particular. The hand that she held was small, it was a small, shaking hand of a child, a child whom had rested in the females' stomach for nine months, the child, which was the reason that she left…

But that was five years ago, and her daughter was now four-and-a-half. Quite a young child still, but her mother felt different… felt as though she knew the little girl through out her entire life, the only problem was… there was someone out there who did not know the little girl, that someone… was the man whom the daughters mother would like her child to call, 'Daddy'. Yes… the little girl did not know her daddy… at all…

The woman had a name, so did the daughter. Jacquelyn 'Jackie' was what the mother had always known herself by. That was her name… The daughter was named Nichole.

Nichole looked older than four to tell the truth, the child may not have been the tallest girl on earth, but her hair was long for her age, coming right past her shoulders… long, curly, and dark blond. She was a sweet child… didn't like to argue about anything, and basically agreed with whatever was told to her face.

Jackie took the girls hand, pulling her quickly along the floors of Point Place airport. It was time to be reunited… no matter how terrified it made her, she was going back… She has vanished after finding out that she was pregnant that summer… she didn't tell anyone where she was going, or why she was leaving. What would the point have been anyway? Would her friends have even believed her words? Probably not… They would have called her insane, declared that she was doing nothing more than lying to them so that she could get herself attention…

She had money… she could afford herself and her daughter easily… there would be no problem with that… But Nichole deserved to know her daddy, and he deserved to know her. Those where the last thoughts that Jackie had time for before she continued walking, heading out the door of the airport, and calling a taxi.

She never remembered the house being that far away… maybe it was because she had been gone for so many years, maybe she simply forgot… or maybe it just seemed longer because she was not excited to get there in any sort of hurry… But she managed to get there either way.

The Foreman's house was small, just as she had remembered it. Her body was about ready to break down as she walked to the door, finally ready to tell the secret that she carried with her… finally ready to come home… Nichole was now in her arms, about ready to turn in for the night. Jackie couldn't argue with that… she wouldn't mind sleep either at this moment. She knocked on the door to the quiet house, hoping that no one was asleep yet.

It only took a brief few second for someone to answer her knock, although it felt as thought it could have been hours… even days if she really thought about her fear of coming back… her fear of being rejected… But when the door opened, she almost cried… seeing faces that she had missed so much.

"Mrs. Foreman?" She asked, just to make sure that it was really her… "It's me… Jackie…"

Her voice was not nearly as cheerful as the Foreman household was used to when they knew her only a couple of years back. But it was her voice either way…

"Oh my god… Jackie, come in, come in." Mrs. Foreman said, sounding slightly nervous to see her again. She didn't even seem to notice the toddler now cradled, sleeping in her arms. Jackie sat on the couch next to Mrs. Foreman.

"So…" She said. "How's it been in point place for the past few years?"

There was silence above them both… the conversation was awkward…

"Basically the same." Was the response that she gave… She laughed awkwardly, as she usually did… "Well you never told me yet, who's this little girl?" She asked, eyeing the still sleeping Nichole.

"Well… was anyone wondering why I left?" Jackie asked. "…Because she's the reason…" Tears welded up in her eyes, even though they didn't fall down, as she stroked the child's hair. "Her name's Nichole. I was pregnant with her when I disappeared…"

Nichole didn't move, still asleep in her mothers arms… Mrs. Foreman looked down to the young child. "Jackie… do you know who the father is?" She asked quietly. Jackie nodded…

"Look at her," She said. "She looks _exactly_ like him…"

Mrs. Foreman nodded, agreeing completely with the girl.

"Do you want me to call him?" She asked. Jackie nodded.

"Doesn't he live here anymore?"

"No honey. It's been five years… they've _all_ moved out… I mean, they visit basically every day but… they don't live here anymore…"

With that, Mrs. Foreman took hold of her phone and dialed a number.

"May I?" Jackie asked holding her hand out. She was handed the phone with no question about it. She placed her ear to the holes and listened for it to be picked up. Of course, it was… There was only one more thing that she could say… So she spoke… "Steven? It's Jackie…"


	2. Chapter 2: Meet your daughter

"Steven? It's Jackie…" Jackie said quietly into the phone. It took several seconds to get a response.

"Jackie?" He said. The woman sighed in relief… part of her had not believed at first that it was him on the other line… "Jackie," He spoke again. "Where have you been? Where are you calling from?"

He sounded worried… he actually seemed like he cared about her like she wanted him to…

"I'm at the Foreman's…" She responded. "I need to talk to you… could… could you come over?" There was silence on the other line… had he hung up? No. Jackie thought to herself. He wouldn't have hung up on her… he wasn't like that…

"Yeah…" He answered within several seconds. "I'll be over as soon as I can, okay?"

Jackie gave a nod, not realizing that he had no ability to see her. "Um, Okay." She quickly shot out after her realization. Her hand put the phone down quickly. "Mrs. Foreman, I don't think that I'm ready for this…" She said. Kitty patted her shoulder.

"You couldn't have kept her a secret forever…" She said. Jackie nodded her head.

"But I kept her for five years… He doesn't have any idea what's going on… and I don't think that I could handle him rejecting me right now…"

_Knock. _

The door knocked once.

_Knock._

It knocked twice…

That was all, for it was by that time that Mrs. Foreman had opened the door. Jackie was speechless when she saw his face… he didn't look any different, but there where so many things that she could have never pointed out before… his eyes where blue… just like Nichole's.

"Steven…" She said, a faint blush passing through her cheeks, her heart was nearly pounding out of her chest… She walked to him quickly, embracing his warm body into her arms. Somewhere in her mind, she was not expecting him to hug her back… but he did…

Jackie pulled herself out of the grasp that they held onto each other with. She was now struggling to talk… "I… I want you to meet somebody…" She tried to say calmly. Her arms made there way to Nichole's tiny sleeping body. She lifted her up carefully as not to disturb her, resting the child's head to her own shoulder. She wasn't sure if she could do it though… if it would have been five years ago, sure. She had been a different person back then… back then… she hadn't given a damn about ruining someone's life… Now she really felt that she could destroy his… With a child that didn't even have a 100 chance of _being _his…

"Who's she?" Hyde asked, his hand making a gesture toward the toddler cradled in Jackie's arms. She stuttered, trying to find the right words…

"She… she's my… daughter…" She let out finally, one of her welded tears managed to make its way down her cheek, leaving a trail of moisture. Hyde's mouth hung slightly open, not sure of what he was supposed to say next. "I mean…" She started to go on, it would have been by that point that she normally would have lied… saying that she wasn't his, saying that she was Michael's, or something else like that… but she couldn't… she didn't know why, but she couldn't… "She's _our_ daughter…"

The completed sentence had been slightly difficult to say… But it had come out none the less… there was only one thing that she could think to do now… only one thing that she could think to say…

"Do you want to hold her?" She asked. She found it surprising, but he actually held his arms out, allowing Jackie to hand him his daughter… Still sound asleep; she was set gently in his arms. She was soft, and warm… not to mention, impossible not to fall in love with the minute you saw her angel-like face.

"What's her name?" Hyde asked curiously.

"Nichole…" Jackie responded. "Her name is Nichole Steven Hyde." She wasn't lying… that was, and always had been, the child's full name. "She's four-and-a-half now… five in March…"

Hyde gave a nod, handing her unwillingly back to her mother. There couldn't have been a single thought that was not running wildly through his head by this moment, but there was only one that he had the ability to focus on…

He was a father…

**I love writing this story, therefore, will continue writing it, but no one is reviewing me… it makes me sad… could someone **_**please**_** review? It would be appreciated. Thank you. **


	3. Chapter 3: Is she mine?

That night, Hyde had spent the night at the Foreman's house. Not much conversation had developed between him and Jackie… But it was good enough for what he knew… Still, it was hard to believe that a four year old could be asleep for that amount of time. He sighed briefly, brushing his fingers through the sleeping child's curly hair. Truly, he couldn't disagree… his daughter resembled him probably more than she did Jackie.

Jackie's head nuzzled against his shoulder as she slept. He thought she was lucky, at least she _could_ sleep. There was too much on his mind right now… He took Nichole from her mothers sleeping arms, cradling her body into his. The toddlers' eyes opened, confused. Hyde smiled at her, nudging Jackie slightly so that she would wake up too… she did.

"Hey…" Hyde said smirking slightly; Nichole lifted her arms up for her mother to take hold of her again. Jackie giggled, taking the toddler and turning her face to look at Hyde.

"Nichole, this is your daddy…" She said calmly. Hyde didn't remember her voice being so sweet… so innocent… The tiny little girl, his daughter… gave a brief 'Hi'. Hyde understood… she was too young to really understand… but he wasn't…

It had hit him… Steven Hyde was twenty three years old. He wasn't old enough for a daughter, hell, he was still single. Technically, he would be considered a teenage father, being only eighteen when Jackie had gotten pregnant. It made him wish that she hadn't left… he had already wished that she hadn't left… now she pinned a baby on him? What was he supposed to do?

How did he even know it was really his?

"Jackie…" Hyde said quietly, "She's mine right? I mean, you're _positive _that she's mine right?" Jackie was not sure what she should say… it was true, she had slept with Kelso around the same time, but should it matter? Steven Hyde loved the child; it wasn't hard to tell at all, she could see it in his eyes.

"Steven, I never cheated on you." She lied… she didn't mean to… but she had just lied to him… She had cheated on him during the same time that she became pregnant with Nichole, but her daughter looked like Hyde… she looked so much like him…

"Jackie, I need proof." Hyde answered. "I want to believe you, but I need proof."

The line got Jackie mad…

"I see…" She said. "So if she's not yours you're gone? You're only going to be there if she belongs to you?"

"Jackie, I'm not taking care of someone else's kid!" He yelled. "I'm not about to give my life up if she might not be mine!"

"But she _is_ yours!" Jackie didn't often yell, but did she have a choice at this point? She had to tell the truth… "You know what?" She yelled, "No, I'm not going to lie. There's a chance that she could be Michael's okay? Happy now?"

Even though he couldn't allow himself to admit it, Hyde was curtain that he had felt his heart shatter…he really had believed her… he really thought that she never cheated, he really thought that Nichole was his daughter… but she lied… she _lied._ The topic was so important… it was about a _life_ that might be _part_ of him.

"I'm going home…" He said angrily lifting his body off of the couch.

"Steven…"

"No… You lied to me, you cheated to me, you want her father? Go talk to Kelso…" Those where his last line before slamming the door. Nichole cried as she noticed tears running down her mothers face. She didn't like other people being unhappy… she never had…

"Its okay, Nikki…" Jackie sobbed into the child. "You're his… I know you are… I hope you are…" The last line was whispered under her breath as she laid the toddler down. "Go back to sleep… It's late…" Nichole shook her head, lifting herself back up so that she would not be lying down. Jackie sighed, brushing fingers through her daughters' messy hair, twisting on of the small curly locks through her finger. "You have his hair…" she said. "And his eyes…" A small grin managed to go across her face, if only for a few seconds. "You don't look like Michael… you look like Steven… and he knows it…"

Maybe Jackie really did mean it when she spoke the line… or maybe she was trying to convince herself… looks didn't always matter, Nichole always had the chance of being Kelso's second daughter… She could have told him that… maybe he would actually be there for her… maybe Kelso would be a better daddy to her than Hyde would? She wasn't as sure as she'd like to be… but she could always hope, she thought as she lifted herself and her daughter up and walked out the basement door. She'd come back, after all, it was the only place that she had to stay at for now…

But she had to talk to Kelso…

She had to straighten things out…

The night air felt cold, even though it was summer. But she didn't mind… it didn't bother her… she cradled Nichole in her arms to keep her warm. Not wanting her to catch a cold, and kept walking. Not stopping until she reached the home of Michael Kelso. (His address being on a bulletin board in the basement was quite helpful.) She reached her hand out and rang the door bell, waiting patiently for an answer. It opened.

"Hello?" Someone asked. Jackie looked down to see a young girl standing before her. Probably about six or seven…

"Who are you?" Jackie asked out of curiosity.

"My name's Betsy Kelso. Are you looking for someone?" Jackie's eyes widened for a second before returning to normal. The child had grown up a lot since Jackie saw her last.

"Is your dad home?" She asked. Betsy nodded and ran off quickly, calling out for her dad to come to the door. Jackie waited until seeing his figure approach, he didn't look much different… but he looked slightly older, and hopefully more mature…

"Hey Michael…" Jackie said quietly…

"Jackie?" He responded. "What are you doing here? Where have you been?"

"I… I ran off… because I was pregnant…"

Kelso looked shocked. "This is Nichole…" She started, "I'm not sure if she's yours, or Steven's…"


	4. Chapter 4: Crushes and love

"This is Nichole." Jackie started. "I'm not sure if she's yours or Steven's…" Kelso raised his eyebrows and motioned his hand for her to come in. She did.

The moment was awkward, Jackie held the now awake Nichole Steven Hyde cradled in her arms. It was easy to tell that the child was still tired, but refused to go to bed. Kelso spoke.

"So…" He said awkwardly, he couldn't think of what to say. "What's it like to be pregnant?" Jackie chuckled slightly. It was such a Kelso line… She shrugged. "Do you have an idea whose she is?" He asked next. It was by this point safe to say that he was at least a little bit more mature. Jackie gave a nod.

"I think that she's Steven's… I think that she looks more like him…"

There was no disagreeing with those lines. No disagreeing at all… Kelso looked at the time marked on his watch.

"One minute, please." He said getting up and calling for his daughter. He sent her off to bed and sat back down. "Sorry about that." He chuckled. "She's around the age when she assumes she doesn't have a bedtime."

"How old is she now?" Jackie asked.

"Six. She was about one year old when you left, remember?"

Jackie gave a nod. She remembered seeing Betsy for the last time before leaving; she had just learned to walk and was getting the hang of saying 'Hi.' And being a mother herself: She knew how exciting those moments where. "So," Kelso said. "If you think that she's Hyde's, why are you coming to me?" Jackie let out a brief sigh.

"_Steven,_" She started, correcting him by using Hyde's first name, she had always preferred first names. "He doesn't think that she's his… I mean… I don't think that he does, I'm not sure… He was fine at first… but I couldn't just keep lying to him… I told him about us and he stormed off…"

Kelso wasn't sure what he should be saying… The pain that lay in Jackie's eyes was much too visible… Hell, it almost made him want to cry himself.

"You could get a blood test… or something…" He said, Jackie should have nodded, Kelso expected her to nod, but she didn't…

"I could, but I don't want him to need proof… I want him to be her father either way…" She wasn't in the mood to cry… she hated crying, especially when her daughter was with her. She was aware that her tears made Nichole cry as well. "How are Donna and Eric? And what about Fez?" She said, changing the subject. Kelso shrugged.

"Fez isn't here anymore. He went back to… wherever in the hell he's from." He said with a brief giggle under his breath. "Eric and Donna are engaged; again… hopefully it will work out this time. She's two months pregnant." Jackie gave a grin, the fact wasn't surprising… but for a good amount of years, Jackie hadn't been sure that they could even make a baby. "… What did you do… when you figured out that you where pregnant?" Kelso asked, the question had been on his mind. He had to get it out.

"I left…" She said with a shrug. "I didn't know what else I could do…"

"Who's did you _think_ it was?"

Jackie started to rock back and forth on the couch that she sat on.

"I wasn't sure…" She said, but in my mind I always thought that she was Steven's, I wanted her to be his… after all… I…" Her last line was cut off, she wasn't sure if she should finish it, or not… but Kelso was able to catch on…

"You're still in love with him aren't you?" He said, it wasn't as much that he asked it, more than knew it. Jackie nodded, starting to feel tears form in her eyes.

"Oh my god Michael… I love him so much…" She let the tears fall, staining her lavender colored sweater. It was so easy to see now, Jackie had several boyfriends through out her life, but those where crushes… only crushes… so maybe she had thought that Hyde was a crush too, that she would get over him at one point… But she knew… she wouldn't get over him, he wasn't just a crush, but more than that… she really was in love with Steven Hyde.


	5. Chapter 5: Too stubborn to admit it

Jackie walked back to the Foreman's house with Nichole cradled tightly in her arms, her eyes where just barley open. That made Jackie happy, knowing that she would go back to sleep shortly, she didn't want her to be tired in the morning…

"I can introduce you to everyone else in the morning…" She said calmly. "I think that they'd be happy to meet you."

The basement door had remained unlocked, just as it always was… she could remember sneaking down there at night sometimes when she was younger, she would go down there to see Steven… They wouldn't do anything, he'd just hold her as she slept… and that had always been so much more than Kelso was ever willing to do… Maybe that was why she wanted Hyde to be Nichole's father… she was never sure why… But his name had always been on her birth certificate, she had always given his name when her daughter asked about her dad. That was that…

Jackie yawned, now getting tired herself. Things had been so great at first… but now, she hadn't even been here for one day and everything was messed up…

She laid herself and her daughter on the couch, wrapping both of them in a blanket. Nichole fell asleep easily, even if Jackie stayed wide awake for most of the night… her eyes refused to close, just as she refused to let any tears fall from them. She had made up her mind, she would no longer cry because of Steven… her heart could love him as much as it wanted, even if her mind hated his guts by now… She was well aware that she couldn't force him to believe her, she couldn't force him to want Nichole for a daughter… but he knew that she was his, and Jackie knew that he knew… that was that…

It was close to three o'clock when Jackie's eyes finally managed to close, putting her in a deep sleep for the next three hours, she didn't at first realize how early it still was when Mrs. Foreman woke her up.

"Honey," Mrs. Foreman said. "All of the kids will most likely be over hear by eight, do you want to shower and eat?"

Jackie nodded, pulling her tired body up. Nichole was still sound asleep, Jackie envied that… Nichole was a little girl, hell; she could go at least three days without showering and still smell fine. The young mother lifted herself up and walked upstairs, letting the toddler sleep.

"Do they still come here everyday?" Jackie asked Kitty laughed slightly and nodded.

"Some things never change." She said. Jackie nodded back in return. She could remember being up early to come to the Foreman's house, she was never sure why she did… but it had become a habit, and had basically gone on since the moment they met, weather they liked each other, hated each other, or just didn't care. For most of them: It was the third one… even if she could remember being hated when she started dating Kelso. Come to think of it, it had always been Hyde who hated her the most…

She went into the bathroom and turned on the shower, letting the water heat up before she got in. Normally she would spend over an hour in the shower alone, but not today… today she washed her hair, soaped her body and got out. Wrapping herself in a fuzzy white towel as she started to dry her hair. She soon noticed that she had only taken one other outfit with her, a white sweater with jeans. Not the number one thing that she would be found wearing, but what choice did she have? She slipped into it and dabbed some blush onto her cheeks, then made her way back downstairs. No one was here yet and Nichole was just waking up.

"Hey." Jackie said with a smile as she sat herself down next to her. Nichole sat her patch of messy hair on Jackie's lap, still too tired to bother fully getting up. Jackie lifted her to her lap and pulled a soft-bristled brush out of a bag, combing Nikki's hair back. It was more than a mess in the morning… Just as it always was…

The little girl yawned, wanting to go back to sleep. Jackie undressed her from yesterday's clothes, putting her in a red polo with jeans.

"Come on baby…" Jackie said bringing her upstairs. The table was set with pancakes and eggs, just as it always was on Saturday. I sat down and put Nichole on my lap. Mr. and Mrs. Foreman sat down next to me.

"So Jackie?" Kitty asked, "How have things been with you and Steven, have you talked everything out?"

Jackie gave a shrug, looking as though she was close to tears.

"He doesn't think that she's his…" She said feeding Nichole a piece of egg. "I mean, I think that he does but is too stubborn to admit it…" That would have been like him… he had always been stubborn like that… "Damn it…" Jackie mumbled to herself, making sure that no one could hear her. She finished eating and finished feeding Nichole before saying thank you and going back into the basement. There was only one more thing that she could do now… and that was wait…


	6. Chapter 6: So we meet again?

It hadn't taken as long as expected for the basement door to fly open. Jackie jumped slightly, holding tighter to Nichole. No matter how much she was expecting to see them, it was almost hard for her to believe that she was once again looking at her old friends… Donna spotted her and grew wide eyed, knowing who she was right away.

"Jackie?" She asked, making sure that she wasn't seeing things. "What are you? I mean… Well hi." It wasn't hard to tell that she had no idea what to say. Jackie smiled, getting up and hugging her.

"It's been a while." She said, Eric and Kelso where the next ones in the basement. She smiled at Eric, and nodded at Kelso. "I'm glad to see you all again… It's been a long time…"

It was easy to see all eyes making there way to the child huddled behind her mother. She seemed nervous. Jackie took hold of her, setting her on her lap. "Nichole, honey, say hello." She spoke. "She's… she's my daughter…"

Donna seemed surprised, unlike Kelso. Eric merely cocked an eyebrow. "I left when I found out that I was pregnant with her…"

"Does that mean she's Hyde's?" Donna asked, sitting on the couch next to Jackie and stroking Nikki's hair.

Jackie looked to Kelso again, as did everyone else when they saw her wandering eyes.

"I'm not sure…" She stated. "I think that she is though…"

"She looks like him…" Donna responded. Kelso gave a shrug.

"I don't know, I think she looks a little like me- Ouch!" He yelled at the feeling of Eric stomping on his foot.

"I agree with Donna." Eric said. "Has Hyde seen her yet?" He asked. Jackie nodded briefly.

"He walked out on me… He doesn't want her… I mean, he seemed happy at first… But now he doesn't want her…"

Donna nodded slightly, putting an arm around her friend. "Enough about me," Jackie said, "What about you, Donna, you have a tummy!"

"About three months." Donna said with a smirk, "I was so happy when I found out…"

Jackie gave a smile back, chuckling under her breath. "Can I hold her?" Donna asked, Jackie nodded, setting little Nichole on her lap, she looked up at Donna, muttering the word hello under her breath. "Hi there," Donna said back, a large smile growing on her face. Jackie looked to her friend,

"Don't forget that I said I wanted to go baby shopping with you a few years ago, that hasn't changed."

"Sounds fun," Donna said, not sounding nearly as annoyed with Jackie as she had been about five years ago, she was happy to see her old friend again… her best friend…

"Where _is_ Hyde?" Eric asked looking out the basement door.

"Probably not coming today…" Jackie said. "I think that he's mad at me… I said before, he doesn't think that she's his…"

"It's sad…" Said Donna, "He always gets this way when he thinks that people are going to mope about something… he did the same thing when we lost Kasey…" Jackie pulled herself up, looking eye to eye with Donna.

"What?" She asked, "What happened to Kasey?" She looked over to Kelso next, waiting for someone to give her a response.

"Killed himself when he was drunk…" Said Kelso under his breath, "About a year ago…"

Tears started to run down Jackie's eyes.

"Why the hell? Why would he do that?" Nichole looked at her mother, she had never heard her curse before.

"No one knows…"

Jackie looked up at the door to see who had spoken.

"Steven… You came back…" She said in a whisper.


End file.
